Pre-planning allows the decision making process to be done in a less stressful atmosphere. One as time to review and think about the plans before the contract is finalized. Besides the obvious reason of assuring that ones funeral service is exactly as they wish, there are a few other significant reasons to pre-plan. The prices become fixed and guaranteed. Secondly, if for any reason one ever requires long-term medical care and applies for state assistance, any money in trust for burial expenses is considered a non=asset. We at Douglass Funeral Service stress the importance of understanding pre-planning before actually signing a contract. Generally speaking, it is our third meeting with a family before the actual contract is signed. Also, as this is not the easiest thing to talk about, we often schedule at least the first meeting in the home of the family. This offers a little more security and comfort.

Douglass Funeral Service offers pre-planning services, funded by various means. There are two popular pre-planning services chosen by the families we work with: Burial Insurance and Burial Trusts.

Burial Insurance is the most common means to prepare a pre-planned funeral. Douglass Funeral Service uses a specifically designed burial insurance, which is written for the exact amount of merchandise and services chosen. Burial insurance only offered through funeral home services, therefore our funeral directors are required by law to be licensed agents in insurance.

The second most popular pre-planning method is burial trusts. These trusts are set up so that the funds are simply paced in a master trust and cannot be released until a certificate of death is produced. The funeral home does not have access to this money. Payment can be made by lump sum, or scheduled payments up to twenty years.